Fire Emblem: Seal of Oroborus
by Neccy
Summary: Invasion...Divine Weapons...A sealed creature of might...Follow the adventures of a band of heroes as they struggle to fight for their countries, homes, and lives on the continent of Danube against the forces of light and darkness. Update: Chapter 2 up!
1. Prologue

Hello, there, fellow readers! Here is my Fire Emblem-based fiction story, which I've planned and plotted on for a while, but never got to writing down anything. I'm hoping it'll turn out all right...nonetheless, I would like if you read this, and preferably also review it . I've decided to start with the Prologue,which is important,so please read all of it. Any suggestions from experienced writers would be appreciated, of course. This is my first fic, after all.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem, which is unfortunate, because I need the money from the profits that surely have come from the franchise. Alas, alack...Nonetheless, the continent of Danube and any fictional characters, etc that I'vecreated are mine.

_It was 500 years ago... _

500 years ago, a group of people numbering a half million set sail from their homeland. They were from all walks of life, all shapes and sizes. They ran from their homeland because it was filled with decay, misery, poverty, and darkness...they ran because they would soon die if they stayed...(and this is why they are called the Exiles).

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They traveled the fierce seas, not knowing where to go...  
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Then, finally, they caught sight of land. They moved their small fleet towards the continent. After scouting the land briefly, they landed everyone and made camps. Eventually, though, they encountered another human----one who was not of their party. Then, they encountered many more of them. The Exiles knew they would probably be slaughtered, as their party was very hungry and tired, but instead of attacking, the friendly people of the continent brought food to feed them, and helped them set up homes. These people were called the Natives by the Exiles, for they were native to the continent.  
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The Natives helped the Exiles significantly. They even told them the habitats of the Pegasi, Wyverns, and Horses on the island, overjoying a great deal of the Exiles, who had been forced to give up their mounts when fleeing. The Exiles, in turn, helped the Natives create bigger and better crops, and helped irrigate much of the land. Because of their teamwork, the continent of Danube bloomed more than it ever had before.  
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However, not all was well. The Natives told the Exiles of the dark creatures that loomed in so many places. And, while they would not cause too much trouble, when they did it was utter chaos and bloodshed.  
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Unfortunately, then the dark creatures began to mobilize. They mobilized because their leader had come...Azaloth, a massive creature of might and magic. The massive Demon had come to destroy all that the humans had made and accomplished...  
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The humans, Exile and Native, were terrified of the Dark Creature hordes. They knew that with their current armaments, they could not have possibly have defeated all of them, especially Azaloth. In desperation, they did what people naturally do---they prayed to the heavens. Everyone prayed for anything that would deliver them from evil.  
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Then, the Fire Emblem fell from the heavens.  
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According to their priests and holiest people, this would save them, if they would trust themselves. The priests told them what to do----the humans would combine every drop of knowledge they had, and would forge weapons of great design and power. And the Fire Emblem's power would be tapped into the weapons, and they would be used to defeat the evils before them. The people accepted this, and they worked.  
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After a while, just as the creatures were prepared to defeat the humans, the weapons were forged. The humans, Exile and Native, sent their armies, and had their mightiest warriors wield the new weapons, which would be called the Divine Weapons from now on.  
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The Divine Weapons...weapons of power and magic, fused with the power of the heavens. They were Joyeuse, the Fire Blade...Parashu, the Thunder Axe...Gae Bolga, the Black Lance...Arbalest, the Wind Bow...Stormos, the Tome of Storms...Lugus, the Tome of the Sun...and Morrigan, the Tome of Ravens.  
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In a fierce battle that saw thousands of humans fall for every score thousand of dark creatures, the humans won. Azathoth was defeated by the champions wielding the Divine Weapons, his body was destroyed, his ashes scattered, and his soul was bound to a crude plane in an unknown place. And the humans rejoyced. They recorded the events that transpired, and called it the Great War._

...It has been many centuries since then...

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Now, the continent of Danube is divided. The Natives have been stripped of a great deal of their land, but they maintain a fierce alliance with the Exiles of Blackwynn, who alone have not forgotten their debt to the Natives. The Exiles themselves have split into 5 nations, and have also fought amongst themselves._

_The kingdom-democracy of Mycenae, land of the emerald plains and the Natives._

_The theocracy of Vailos, the Holy Land._

_The kingdom of Blackwynn, a rugged land of mountains and wyverns._

_The kingdom of Pegasum, a cold nation to the far north._

_The islands of Silesia, a mighty nation of seafarers._

_And the kingdom of Anatolia, at the heart of the continent of Danube._

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War was not so unusual as it was in the days of their forefathers. Wars for land and pride occurred every decade, lives were lost, and old scars sometimes did not fade away._

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Such was the state of things in Danube. However...things had taken a turn for the worse…_


	2. Chapter 1: The Beginning

Hooray, the first chapter is (finally) up! I actually had it typed up a while ago...but then I realized all of the horrid spelling and grammar errors I made, and the fact that it was in script dialogue dulled it. So, I spent the last day or so editing everything...rather difficult. (If you've read my profile, you'll understand.)

Please keep in mind that this story is set up partially in the traditional Fire Emblem sense. By that, I mean that we start off with a typical bandit fight, and the bandits, as usual, get owned. However, in this fic, even THAT has a clever twist to it. Hehehe...

Disclaimer: I OWN FIRE EMBLEM! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

...Not really. Fire Emblem is property of its creators/owners/etc. Which, sadly, does not include me. Ugh.

Chapter 1: The Beginning

In the peaceful western plains of Mycenae, a sea of green covered everything in sight. An airborne observer would have easily have been distracted from everything else by the beautiful grasses that covered the area. The same observer, however, would have missed a seemingly-short castle in the plains. Naturally, this is understandable, as the roof of the castle was painted grass green for that very purpose.

Inside the square-shaped castle, there was an entire city busily attending to their tasks. This would have amazed a great deal of people, especially considering how so many people could survive underground with suffocating, but it was in fact simple engineering know how that allowed large intakes of oxygen from level ground. As most of the castle was actually part of a massive underground cave, many people were mining metals in some sections of the castle. Others were selling foodstuffs and milk to passerby, while yet others anxiously held clipboards, asking whoever they saw at the local Arena if they would like to join the military.

Then, within the walled underground castle laid yet another castle, with even more fortifications. This castle was the official residence of the leader of the confederation of Mycenae, King Salah.

King Salah was currently in his private quarters, busily reading a decree written by his chancellor. He had a fresh pitcher of wine and a goblet to his left, and a quill filled with ink held in his right hand. He sighed as he finished his quick scan of the decree and realized what he was about to sign.

King Salah's predecessor, the unpopular King Nim, was a bumbling, incompetent leader who had helped make the Mycenaean military as incompetent as it was today. He had been a solider in one of Mycenae's wars with Anatolia several years ago back, over a land dispute in which Anatolia, in short, had wanted to take land from people they considered inferior. Mycenae, thanks to King Nim's inept fighting and bickering with his generals, had done nothing at all to dispel Anatolia's notion. Anatolia had emerged from the short war victorious and joyous over new land they'd won as a result, and the Mycenaean people, now quite annoyed, had voted out King Nim as soon as his 10 year tenure had ended.

Thanks to that, Salah had entered office with a lot of hype from the populace, especially as he was a former solider. The only problem, he felt, was that the people of Mycenae wanted a nice and safe-keeping military, and did not want to join themselves---at least not unless they were made. Which was exactly why he was about to sign the decree in front of him. It would have forced a great deal of people into the army, an unpopular notion, especially when people in your country didn't have fierce loyalty to you, but necessary. After all, both his own spies and allied spies from Blackwynn had told him of Vailos's military, which, apparently, was recruiting more anddoing more training than usual---in Danube, this often meant a nation was going to invade soon. Vailos, Salah knew, could easily crush his own nation of Mycenae. Worse yet, they were now allied with Pegasum, a nation that Salah had long thought as a decent country. Things did not look too bright, and no time could be wasted.

After all, if his nation were to fall…he felt chills down his spine at the prospect of what could happen.

He signed the decree, then grabbed his wine pitcher and drank every drop of alcohol in it.  
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The village of Gentlebreeze.

It was a typical village in Mycenae: it was on a green plain, it had a fair amount of people in it, and the climate was warm. Of course, it also got gentle breezes from the nearby sea, which was where its name was deprived from. Today was Market Day, and so people in the village had wandered slightly aimlessly from their homes to the Marketplace to go get goods and sample out the latest foods and drinks. Unlike most Market Days, though, the population racing to market was missing a lot of people. This surprised no one. King Salah had signed a decree "asking" (Or rather, "demanding") all young, able-bodied males in the area to go to Mycenae Hall and join the military. A great deal of males who either wanted to serve their nation or were simply bored sick of their current lives had headed east to the capital. Thus, Gentlebreeze was left with little but the elderly and women and children, who seemed to take advantage of the absence of men by fighting over goods and bartering with each other, even getting drunk---functions of life that men normally filled.

The decree was posted in a section of the Market called the forum, which was essentially a small area of columns. All important postings and news were placed in the forum, though mostly it remained empty except for advertisements and death notices. The decree, in bright green parchment, was largely unheeded by the general populace now that the men were all off to get themselves killed.

However, largely unnoticed by the people off to buy themselves bread and cheese was a rather disgusting man with a large axe jutting from a strap on his back, standing right in the forum. He smiled at the sheer carelessness of the villagers, and how easy picking them off would be. He headed back outside the village, to go and tell his hungry gang of this wonderful development. They would not be disappointed.

The villagers continued on their busy day, buying, eating, and watching entertainment, not knowing at all what would come next...

Several hours later, the blow fell.

A gang of hungry bandits, numbering five in number, quickly burst into the village marketplace. The people, still dancing to a tune several bards were playing, did not notice until about 5 of their own had been cut down. When they were cut down, they fled as quickly as they could towards their homes.

A young girl with purple hair and black clothing who happened to be standing in the road where the villagers were running on watched as the villagers fled on all sides of her. She quickly grabbed one of the fleeing villagers in order to get an explanation.

"Excuse me, good sir...but what is all the fuss about? Isn't today a market day?"

The male villager, his eyes wide with fright, managed to stutter, "It's a ban-ban-bandit attack! They came out of nowhere, and robbing us, and killing us, and we have no idea how to fight, and the men are gone, and---and---and---"

The girl, not exactly unused to such scenes, "Alright...please calm down, sir. I'll handle it..."

As soon as she uttered thewords, the villager laughed hollowly."Wha? Are you insane? You can't even be 18! What can a mere woman like you do to protect us?"

It took all her willpower not to choke the ignorant man. "...Do you wish to see?", she said icily.

"I-I-I-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" He began to panic, and managed to free himself from her grasp. She watched the fool as he ran to the other side of town, along with the other villagers.

She focused her attention towards the bandit gang that the villagers had fled from. She nimbly climbed up a nearby ladder onto a rooftop to see them, and she counted them.

_One...two...three...four...five. Not too many, especially if I get them to split up or catch them unaware..._

She began to think quickly of something that could potentially distract them. Looking around the rooftop, she saw an old brick lying in the corner. She picked up the brick, and threw it at the bandits.

It hit one of the bandits on the head, and crumbled, making a cut on his head. (The girl on the rooftop instinctively called him "Bandit 1")

The bandit quickly glared at the bandit nearest him, who was every bit as fiflthy as he was. "Hey, what was that for?"

The other bandit (The girl on the rooftop instinctively called him "Bandit 2") , mystified, replied, "Me? I didn't do nuthin'..."

Bandit 1snapped back, "Yeah, you did! You attacked me with that damned rock!"

Bandit 2, now also getting angry, roared, "I ain't do nothin'! You just want what I've pillaged!"

Bandit 1then grabbed his axe from his back, and brutally slashed it at Bandit 2'slegs. The axe buried itself in the Bandit 2's right leg, going clean through an artery. He fell to the ground, moving constantly and screaming for help. The screaming persisted, until he stopped moving.

The other bandits did not seem to notice the large puddle of blood oozing from the unfortunate bandit's corpse. Another bandit spoke.

"...Well, he was rather useless. I say we split up and find out who was stupid enough to do that to us!"

The other bandits agreed completely.

"Blarggghhh! They gonna pay!"

They split up to seperate parts of the village, which was not only what the girl had wanted, but had occured more easy than she'd expected. The girl almost giggled with the amusement of the scene, but then she realized what she was supposed to be doing.

She pulled out her sword, and jumped off the roof towards the nearest bandit.

The bandit nearest her was current searching a vacant house for the mysterious attacker. Seeing no sign of her, he didn't hesitate to go and rob the home of whatever goods that might be available. The girl stealthily snuck towards the idiot.  
"Alright...here I go..."she murmured.

She grabbed her sword, and thrust it at the back of the man's neck. The sword went deep, emerging on the other side.  
The bandit managed to see a shiny blade emerge from his from his neck.

"What the hell---" was all he could get out, before a spurt of blood emerged form his mouth.

The girl let the man fall to the ground, then she removed her sword and wiped it on the ground.

_One down, three to go...,_ she thought to herself, then headed out back into the road.

The other three bandits were actually not going to far from when they set off. In fact, they were absent-mindedly circling the area where they were. The bandit that had killed the other bandit had forgotten to search for another axe, and he had decided to simply attempt to look intimidating by putting on a mean expression.

The swordswoman looked at them. She thought, _This is just pathetic. And to think they call themselves bandits_... She sighed at their sheer incompetence.

She caught sight of the unarmed man, and she waited as the other bandits wandered away from her. When they did (They'd gotten lazy, and had decided to go eat some fruit from a fruit stand), she didn't even bother with stealthiness when dealing with the unarmed bandit, the same Bandit 1 she'd seen before. She rushed towards him.

Bandit 1 had seen her coming, and he decided that he would teach the stupid girl a lesson by simply beating her. He prepared to grab her, but as she got nearer, he saw a gleam of metal emerge in her hand. Horrified, he realized it was a sword, and it was blood-stained. He tried to move, but he simply wasn't fast enough. The sword slashed brutally into his chest---not once, not twice, but thrice---and he fell down to the ground, heart exposed.

The girl didn't bother wiping her sword this time. She began to move towards the remaining two bandits. However, when she did see them near the fruits, she only saw a charred stand, two dead men with axes, slightly burned, and a mage with a Fire grimoire hopping madly.

The mage eyed her before she could do anything, and she quickly said

"Hey, it's Selene! Don't you remember me? Huh, huh, huh?" She reeked of joy.

Selene replied, "Ah, of course... You're Flora, aren't you. I remember you...you lived in this area, right. A shame I didn't get a chance to see you. How have you been all this time--er--besides destroying some bandits?" She acknowledged the two singed corpses to Flora's right.

Flora quickly piped, "Yeah, I did! I live on the outskirts of the village, and I heard from one of my friends that bandits were here, and went to go check, but I saw two of them dead, so I figured that someone had done it, and then I went to go and see, and it was you, destroying some pathetic loser, so then I decided I'd go and do something-----"

The tirade went on and on. Selene smiled at her, but silently she'd wished she'd be quiet.

Flora was a mage that, unlike Selene, was a native of Gentlebreeze. She was a eccentric, very social person who sported blue hair, blue eyes and multi-colored robes that could probably blind. She loved everything about nature, and she had a tendency to get very overexcited about anything.

Despite the clearly glaring contrasts between Flora and Selene, they had managed to become good friends in a very short time. It was one of those unions that only divine guidance could have caused.

As Flora rambled on, a man on horseback began to gallop towards then. Flora simply stopped talking and blinked, but Selene quickly drew out her sword again, ready to defend if needed.

Instead of attacking, the man steered his horse a few feet away from them. He carried a long lance in his right hand, which he strapped onto his back to indicate he wasn't a threat. He jumped off, and hailed them with a raising of his left hand.

"Greetings', he said to the two. "I was watching you two lasses defeat those bandits. I have to say, I'm very impressed..."

Flora giggled, and managed to say, "Yay! Thanks, stranger!"

Selene, being more wary than her friend, moved a hand to silence her.

Shereplied"May I ask, who are you? And why did you just watch us as bandits were attacking this village?"

The manlooked her directly in the eye, then replied firmly, "I had figured you could have handled it. And you two did, didn't you? In any case----oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name is Aldin. I'm a captain in the Mycenaean army."

Aldin was a young man, slightly older than Flora and Selene. He sported very dark green hair, and just as dark eyes. He wore tanned animal skin clothing, and a lance was attached to his back via a strap. While Selene had expected him to be a member of the military from the lance on his back, Flora was in awe at this revelation.

"WOW...you're a captain? In the Mycenaean army?"

"Um, yes."

Selene intervined at that moment. "What do you want from us?"

Aldin, at this, pulled out a copy of Royal Decree #371---the same decree that was posted in Gentlebreeze's forum. Indicating the decree to them, he replied, "You see...I've seen what you two can do. I want you two to join the Mycenaean army."

Flora suddenly leapt with the same kind of energy that a little child does when rewarded candy." Yay, the army!"

She giggled at the mere idea. Selene, being more sensible (and probably more sane), did not bother wasting a second with more questioning.

"Why should we do that?"

Aldin said in reply, "Well, the army could use people such as yourselves. You both have such skill that we lack in the army. We need you to join us. The nation needs you, rather."

"Why would the nation need me? That decree in your hands only asked for young males to join. I don't think I fit that description, wouldn't you agree?"

"Of course not...but all the same, you're incredibly talented. I've seen you and the girl fight. I can tell you honestly that about 90 of the men who enlisted will have amazingly inferior skills compared to you two. Also, if we're invaded..."

Flora gasped in shock. "We're going to be invaded?"

Selene again asked a question. "What is this about an invasion? I haven't heard any news about a nation wanting to invade Mycenae..."

Aldin sighed with some regret,"...I'm afraid I can't tell you completely. You'll have to meet up with King Salah for that."

"Hmm...King Salah, eh? Sounds interesting, to say the least."

Flora suddenly burst out, "Why not? I'll join!"

Selene looked at her amazingly. She managed to say,"...So easily? Do you know what the army is?"

Flora gushed what to Selene was both exceedingly excited and ignorant, "Of course I do! It's a place where we fight evil, make everyone happy, and have adventures!"

Selene was amazed at the sheer naivety of Flora. All the same, she smiled. She was right in at least that latter part.

"Yes...but nonetheless...ah, why not. After all, I can see nothing better to do, and I'm not about to let you go and get yourself killed..."

Aldin replied happily, "Excellent! I'll be in the area for another day. Just get yourselves prepared for the journey. It's not so far, but nonetheless, I insist you prepare yourselves for anything that might come stock up on any swords, tomes, and the like, you know? So, let us meet at the gate tomorrow!"

Aldin got back on his horse, then gestured to the horse, which seemed to understand. He rode off.

Selene and Flora were still alone in the road. The villagers, it seemed, were not about to risk being killed again that day. The sun was setting in the distance. Selene wondered if, perhaps, this had more symbolic meaning that it appeared to her.

Flora looked at Selene with a wide grin on her face.

"This is going to be so exciting! I mean, the army, that's where all the fun stuff is! Isn't that right, Selene?"

Selene managed to give another thin smile. "Indeed, it is. Indeed it is."

She sighed.


	3. Chapter 2: Exile from the Throne

Ahoy, and welcome to my newest chapter. I've been distracted by my constant reading of random articles on Wikipedia, one of the greatest sites ever made. Yes...oh, and from slight writer's block, too. XD

Anyway, here I go. And yes, the characters introduced in this chapter are compatible with the characters from the previous chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem. Move on.

Now...this Chapter, which I personally feel is much better than the previous one:

Chapter Two: Exile from the Throne

_The cold nation of Pegasum._

_Pegasum is a nation where there is snow year-round. In the harsh environment, people are ruled under King Aragon. King Aragon is much beloved by the people, and many have been saved from blizzards by his willingness to aid all of Pegasum's citizens. His top general and closest advisor, General Darenko, is equally popular with his people, and he and Aragon have been friends for decades. Aragon's son, Parn, however, is seen as something of a recluse by the people. Because he didn't have the outgoing personality the people were used to, most citizens in Pegasum have clamored for Darenko to become Aragon's successor. Aragon himself prefers his son to rule after him, and set it in royal decree._

_This state of affairs would end soon, however..._

King Aragon was in his private chambers, lying in bed. The King, normally quite healthy and robust, had been sick recently. Red armored-clad royal soldiers guarded the entrance to the chambers, and a servant attended to the king's needs. His son, Parn, had gone out hunting for game in the forest. Aragon knew the boy would be safe, even with the heavier-than-usual snowfall outside, and so he paid no heed. He was more worried at the moment with how he'd managed to become so ill in the first place; after all, he was a very strong and fit man, and no one else around him had managed to become ill. He wondered if perhaps it was something else. Perhaps death was knocking at the doorstep? Maybe he was poisoned? He dispelled both notions, because he was still too young for the Reaper to take so soon, and he knew that his court was far too loyal. Not only that, but Darenko himself watched over the cooks. He wouldn't deliberately poison the man that had put him in such a high position, would he?

_Would he_, the king wondered.

The guards parted from the entrance. Then, General Darenko stepped through.

General Darenko was a large General with an affinity for lances, and who always carried his black armor and his trusty Spear with him. He strode forward, then knelt down at the King's bed in respect.

"Greetings, my King", he said.

The King replied, "Ah…General Darenko. You need not be so formal with me." He added in a slight smile.

General Darenko smiled in reply, then stood up. "Perhaps not. Where is your son and my Prince, Parn?"

The King thought for a bit, then responded, "He is out hunting in the royal forest for some deer. You know how he is...he refuses to let the servants go hunt for him. He should be back very soon…any minute, in fact."

The general smiled. "Good, very good." He put his hands behind his back, apparently in an attempt to stretch them. Instead, he uses his right hand, and made a sign. The soliders guarding the King acknowledged it silently, and they exited the chamber.

King Aragon coughed slightly. "My, my, it seems this...illness isn't doing me any good. Blast...I still have yet to have figured out how this happened...' He looked at Darenko. "Do you have any knowledge of this, general?"

Darenko said firmly, "Absolutely not. I had the cooks taste all of your food, and none of them have fallen dead, or even ill."

The King was reassured. "Hmm...very well, then. It's a good thing I have someone I can trust, you know."

At this, the General felt a slight twinge of guilt. The King really didn't know what would happen next. Which was just as well. After all, Darenko himself wouldn't be harming the King...

General Darenko replied, "Yes, my king...it is...But right now, I'm afraid I have some business to attend to. If you would not mind..."

"Of course not. Bah, I'm amazed you stayed this long." Aragon coughed a bit, then winked.

Darenko turned his back to the King, then exited the chambers.

As soon as he exited, he saw his royal soliders standing near the chamber, awaiting his signal. One of the larger soliders, named Cluny, approached and saluted Darenko.

Cluny reported, "Sir, Prince Parn has appeared. As you requested, Pegasus Commander Rina is delaying Parn's arrival to the chamber. Do we have permission to execute our part of the mission?"

Darenko took one last glance at the room where his King laid. He sighed, and wondered if he would regret what was to come.

"Permission granted."

---------------------

Near the gate that indicated the castle's entrance, a young, fair-headed boy continued talking with his friend about his latest hunt. This boy was the Prince of Pegasum, Parn. He sported somewhat long brown hair, fair skin, brown eyes, sea-green colored clothing with a winter camoflage covering, and stood at 5'7", slightly below the average male.

"...So, seeing as it was this nice deer that I wanted, I figured the best way to trap it was to bait it with some food, combined with some whitish camoflague to mix it with the weather."

A female voice replied. She had long pink hair and eyes, was taller than the boy she spoke to by a good 6 inches, and was also bearing the white armor that was the signature of Pegasum's Pegasus Riders and Tamers. "Aye. Did it work?"

"To be honest, not really. Some snow proceeded to fall into the bait from a weak branch above, and the deer got scared and fled. I aimed my bow and fired, but then, a squirrel hopped off a branch and got in the way. And as you might have concluded, it was a waste of time that I could have spent with Father. Speaking of which, I believe it's wise for me to go see him."

"Are you so sure you wish to right now, my Prince? Your father may be angry that you failed to produce results from a hunt. Not only that, but he hasn't come up from his bed due to his illness---"

"Then that's all the more reason to see him, wouldn't you agree?"

"Well..." As she was about to say something else to distract him,Cluny went past the two.

"Good day, Commander Rina and Prince Parn. Tis a good day, is it not?" The solider seemed unusually jolly, a trait that always seemed fishy to Parn. Nonetheless, he did have to reply properly.

"...Good day to you, Captain Cluny", Parn said.

He didn't notice the slight wink that Cluny and Rina exchanged. Cluny walked away, a smile hidden away to be revealed later.

As soon as he left, Rina took a quick look at the large clock above the gate's door. "Well, my Prince, it seems like it's time to drill the Pegasus Batallions. After all, one can never be prepared too much."

She quikcly exited the same way that Cluny did, before Parn could sputter a reply. By now, Parn had felt the day had gone wrong so far, and there was a great deal of odd behavior. Still, he daren't believe that there was some sort of consipracy going on in the shadows.

Parn jogged down the long, brightly lit hallways, towards his father's chambers. He wondered how he was doing after lying bedridden for the last few days. He entered, hoping to talk of his unsucessful hunt with him.

Instead, he got a horrifying suprise.

His father, the King of Pegasum, laid in his bed with his back propped against the wall, eyes shut. His blood had competly soaked the bed he was on, and some of it had seeped onto the area of the ground nearby the bed.He was riddled with arrows, and some of them had pierced directly through him and had embedded themselves in the wall beind him.

Before Parn could utter a word to express his disbelief---before he could get over the shock of seeing his father, the King of Pegasum, lying dead before him---several people had appeared behind the door. He did not take any notice until one of them spoke.

"Prince Parn, what have you done? Do you not know that the slaying of the King is a capital offense, even if you ARE the Prince?"

It was General Darenko. Behind him stood his men, his supposed "royal guard", his guard's captain Cluny, and the Pegasus Commander Rina.

Parn could not begin to even talk without stuttering. "No...Wha-wha-what have you done..."

Darenko gave an angry scream. "What have I DONE? No, the question is what have YOU done."

Rina said in agreement, "...Indeed, Parn. How could you have abused your talent with the arrow for...this. Those are even your arrows. Your own personal arrows, and they match the arrows in your quiver, too."

Parn, stunned at the sudden appearence of the country's top generals accusing him of slaying his father, nonetheless began to find his voice, and he spoke to Rina. "I could not have done this...you know I could not have done this..."

"And yet', Cluny said angrily, "You did."

At that, Darenko's royal guard surrounded Parn with their lances out, who was too shocked to even think of defending himself.

Darenko barked the order, "Subdue the traitor."

Parn only looked ahead, into Darenko's eyes, and right then and there, he knew who had been behind his father's death.

He had no time to dwell on it, though. Two lance flats knocked him cold.

---------------------

Parn awoke groggily in a icy prison cell. Before he could really manage to comprehend what was happening, two soliders of Pegasum had dragged him, one arm to each man, outside of the cell and out of the prison's gate, into the harsh enviroment outside. The cold, along with the heavy snowfall, awoke Parn with a jolt. He shivered, as he had been stripped of his warm camoflague covering and his furry boots. Instead, he only had on his typical sea-green clothing and pants, and cheaply made boots they'd forced on him, which already were tearing apart. Parn wearily looked around the area where he was being dragged.

A Pegasus Battalion---the 2nd wing of Pegasum's famous Pegasus Tamers---had surrounded the area in a semi-circle. Each of them were armed with javelins, and they all faced him as he was dragged through the snow. Parn began to realize what was going on: The 2nd wing was always present at the executions of traitors and other criminals that had commited serious capital offenses.

He was going to die.

He looked once more at his executioners. All of them looked ready to kill him in the most painful, longest method possible. However, squinting his eyes, he managed to see a familiar face. It was one of the Pegasus Tamers who he was good friends with. She sported long blue hair, blue eyes, and white armor. She, alone of the other kinghts, seemed to have slight misgivings about what would happen.

Parn wondered if she still cared about him, or at least had doubts about him being his father's murderer. Or maybe she just didn't like killing.

_June...are you one of them, too..., _he wondered to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted, however, at the blast of a horn. The Pegasus Brigade Commander Rina---_That witch_, he thought bitterly---flew above the other Pegasus Tamers, and she spoke in a high, commanding voice.

"We are here today to commence the execution of the tratior Parn, who ruthlessly murdered his father---our King, may he rest in peace---in an attempt to seize the throne. This is his punishment, not only by the law, but by the will of the people, who, I am proud to say, have given full support to his execution."

Parn's eyes turned downward. _The common people, too...therewasn't a soul in Pegasum that believed me..._ He began to fall into despair. He fell to his knees, but the two soliders forced him back up to his feet.

Rina barked another command. "2nd Wing of the Pegasus Battalions of Pegasum, commence the execution."

The soliders who'd been holding him up dropped him like a rag doll and walked away. He fell to the snow, but he had gotten up quickly to see how he'd die. He looked around, and saw about 6 knights of the 2nd Wing charge at him, javelins pointed forward.

Parn looked to the ground. A teardrop fell to the snow.

_So, this is my fate..._

He closed his eyes. He felt a swoop of wind blow by him. He assumed it was the Pegasus Tamers, their pegasus zooming by for the kill...he waited for a lance, or two, or several, to stab him.

None of them did. Nothing had pierced him yet.

Instead, he felt himself being lifted off the ground. Not having any confirmation as to if this was true or not, he decided to open his eyes. He found himself staring at the ground, and a large, thick cloud of fog had appeared where his executioners had once he looked around his surroundings.

He was ona Pegasus, being held steady on it with one arm. And its rider was...

"June...My God, is that you?" He did not see her face, but he could recognize her hair like the back of his hand.

"You bet.", came the reply. She turned and smiled slightly.

"It's you...I thought that...I...I..." Parn was stunned at this. His life had seemed so sure to end right there, and he'd just been saved by her, who was supposed to be one of her executioners.

"Before you go on', June quickly said, "I'd like you to hold on tight. That cloud won't hold them off for very long, so we need to find a place to land safely first."

"About that cloud...it looks like it was made from, well, magic.', Parn said as he held onto June's waist. "And I also know you're not the greatest wizard out there. So, who made that?"

June simply said, "A good friend of mine."

Parn replied, "Really?...Why did they do that?"

June replied, "She's part of this---how to put it---resistance in Pegasum. Er...I'll explain later, when we get somewhere safe, perhaps a cave."

Parn said, "I see...I suppose it can wait..."

June said, "Indeed, mi lord. And it seems there's a small mountain ahead. We'll probably find a cave there." She pressed onto the Pegasus' head, and it somehow seemed to understand what it had to do. It swopped down towards the small mountain at high speed, not withstanding the heavy snowfall all around.

Parn, in the meantime, began to shiver once more as he tried to move as much as possible without losing his grip on June. It was still very cold, and he feared catching any diesase from the winter. He had seen people lose fingers, toes, even entire limbs from frostbite, hypothermia, and other diesases. He, for one, did not wish to be one of those people.

In a few minutes (to Parn, it seemed an hour), the pegasus began to glide safely to the ground in front of a opening in the mountain they'd flow at. June petted her Pegasus, and led it to the cave, as Parn trudged through the snow, following them into the dank cave.

The cave was still rather cool, but it was much better than how it was outside. Therefore, Parn collapsed onto the ground as soon as he got far enough from the snow outside. June, on the other hand, hitched her pegasus onto a stalactite jutting from the ground, dropped her lance, and moved towards Parn; then she pulled a tiny log from a sack she'd been carrying on her lance, took some flint-and-steel from her pocket, and struck them togheter until she'd made a fire. She then threw some powder onto the fire, which suddenly expanded greatly.

Parnlifted himself enough to get up and sit on the floor. He extended his hands near the fire and rubbed them furiously. June removed the armor she was wearing, then also sat down and rubbed her hands. The two of them kept at that until Parn remembered what he was going to ask.

"So...about this "resistance" you spoke of..."

June looked up to him, and replied, "Yes...well, I should start by explaning exactly what happened while you were stuck in that sleep at the prison."

She looked at the fire once more, then shifted her eyes towards Parn. "Well, as soon as Darenko could, he and the others declared that you'd killed King Aragon. The citizenry...well, they believed it, to be honest...after all, they loved Aragon and Darenko, and they really never warmed to you..."

Parn said nothing. June continued:

"So...Darenko had everyone's blessing but a select few, who were too afraid to speak up, and so he declared himself the new King of Pegasum amid a cherring mob. And it was legal, too. Your father himself said that he was the second-in-line to become the King, and he put it in print, as well. After this, he rushed through atrial. You were found guilty of treason within less than an hour..."

"I see."

"And then...well, do you recall that friend of mine? She is a powerful mage who happens to believe you, and she agreed toaid me. She simply created a cloud of very thick, suffocating fog from a safe distance, and I rushed in covered my mouth, and managed to snatch you during the diversion."

"And so...she and the other members of the Resistance there all are in support of you, and don't believe the lies being told about you. They're largely underground and rather few in number, so we can't expect them to spark an uprising, expecially with the people throwing their support behing General Darenko. Nonetheless, they hope that one day, you can return and reclaim the throne..."

Parn replied, "I wonder how I'll be able to do that.We have to, of course, be able to escape Pegasum first. Can you think of any nations we'll be safe in?"

"Well...let's see...the latest news is that Darenko made an alliance with Vailos, so that's out of the question..."

Parn gritted his teeth. He had never shared any bond with that sanctimonious nation and their Pontifex Maximus.

"Hmm...from what I know, Silesia is also out of the question, as the mood there is to remain strictly isolationist, since they wish to retain their false sense of security on an island. As for Anatolia, I have heard absolutely nothing aboutit. Maybe something bad happened there, or they simply stopped communicating."

"That leaves Blackwynn and Mycenae. Blackwynn would seem ideal, except that the terrain is dangerous if you don't live there, and that they just don't like...pegasi there..."

"Mmhm. We wouldn't want them to harm you, now would we?"

June smiled. "No, I suppose not. So, that leaves Mycenae...which, from what I know, has ideal terrain, and would not mind so much, but I suppose we can pray they'll accept us..."

Parn considered. "Yes...I suppose that's the way to go.However, I'm concerned about our route. Maybe we can head to the Western Sea, and stay at the edges of Anatolia until we're inside Mycenaean territory. What say you?"

"Well...I'm not well-versed in planning routes. I think I'll follow your lead."

"Mmhm...well, I suppose we'll wait until the snow clears up before we set out. Though, I do haveanother question for you."

"Yes, Parn?

"Why did you help me?"

"Um..."

"It's not that I'm ungrateful.", continued Parn. "I really do appreciate all you've done for, risking your life to help...me, of all the people. And yet, weren't you in line to become the second-in-command of the Pegasus Brigade? Why did you...throw all of that away?"

June chose not to look Parn in the eye, as she felt she might do something that seemed weak.

"Well, aren't friends supposed to help other friends? You are my friend, and I couldn't just leave you...to die...I could never do that to you. I couldn't let that happen, and I knew that you could not have betrayed your father. I knew you too well to believe that. I---"

"You've said enough, June." Parn did not smile often, but he did now. He moved his arm over the fire, and patted her gently on the shoulder.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Parn." She grinned.

They sat in silence for a few seconds, before Parn realized the time of day; it had turned dark. "Hehehe...it's night time, and Pegasum soliders have yet to find us. Also, the snowfall is slowing. We'd better head to sleep..."

June nodded in return. "I guess you're right...goodnight, then?

Parn replied, "Indeed. Goodnight."

The two of them got up, and moved further away from the fire (to ensure they didn't roll into it)before lying down on their sides.

"Oh, one more thing', Parn said to June.

"Yes?"

"Er...are there bears in this cave, by any chance?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, alright. It's bear free."

"But, if there is..."

"We don't have any food."

"But I heard that they---"

"Shut up and get to sleep."

--------------------------------------------

Hence ends Chapter 2. Or, if you actually paid attention to the chronological order of events, Chapter 1x. Oh well...next chapter, we catch up with Selene and the others as they begin their journey to Mycenae Hall, and encounter all sorts of suprises as they approach. Stay tuned!


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